The Traitor Queen (The Bridge Kingdom Book 2)

But to reach it she’d have to go down.

Down into the darkness and the depths of the water, and a familiar terror rose in her chest, tearing through her veins. “I can’t.”

“You can.” He kissed her hard. “I’ve never once seen fear make a decision for you.”

Lara shook her head. This was too much.

“I need you.” His breath was hot against her lips. “And I need you to keep fighting.”

Closing her eyes, Lara struggled against her terror of the water—the terror that had haunted her steps from the moment she’d stepped foot in Ithicana. You are a princess, she told herself. A queen.

But above all, she was the little cockroach.

Lara nodded once, sucking in a deep breath.

And then Aren pulled her down beneath the surface.

She could not see. Had no sense of up or down as the ocean ripped at her body, only Aren’s grip on her keeping the water from tearing her out to sea.

Deeper. She knew he must be taking her deeper, because the pressure in her ears grew, and it took all of her strength to catch hold of the bars and drag herself down when instinct demanded she go up. Back to the surface and to air.

Down and down.

Panic raced through her veins, the need to breathe growing with each passing second, the only thing keeping her sane the knowledge that Aren was with her. That to save him, she needed to save herself.

Then her hands hit rock.

They were at the bottom o

“They tell me it’s a bloody miracle you’re alive given your injuries and—” He broke off, his face tightening.

“And the fact that I drowned?”

“Yes.” His hazel eyes gleamed with unspent tears as they met hers. “You were dead. Dead in my arms, and I . . . I . . .” He rubbed a hand across his face, shaking his head.

“I heard you call my name,” she whispered. “I heard you order me to fight.”

“First damned time you ever listened.”

She smiled, but sadness swelled in her chest. “Don’t get used to it.”

Aren shook his head. “You don’t need to prove anything to me, Lara. I know better than anyone how strong you are.”

Buckling her belt, she looked up at him. “I swore to fight by your side, to defend you to my dying breath, to cherish your body and none other, and to be loyal to you as long as I live.” Picking up her knives, she slid them into their sheaths with twin thunks. “And that means where you go, I go, too.”

His eyes were full of heat. Of desire for her. Of respect for her. “As you say, Your Grace.” Offering his arm, Aren bent low, his breath warm against her ear. “There’s no one in the world like you, you know.”

“No, there isn’t.” Lara squared her shoulders as the doors to the balcony were flung wide open, revealing a crowd of their people waiting below. “Because there is only one Queen of Ithicana. Just as there is only one King. And if any of our enemies dare come for our kingdom, we will bring them to their knees.”